ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Help is on the way for those high energy bills as the Maryland General Assembly is looking to pay out people during the peak energy usage months.
"We were really concerned for those who are not eligible for the lowest income funds, who are not wealthy and that middle gap is who are really feeling the pinch," said Senate President Bill Ferguson.
Not everything is finalized, but here's what we know about the plan as of now.
Two payments will go to ratepayers in the state of Maryland and the more energy you use, the more you'll get.
"Just like rates are, where rates are based on kilowatt usage on the electric side, it would be a similar type of rebate," said Ferguson.
The payments come from a fund energy companies pay into when they run out of renewable energy credits.
It's expected to total $200 million in payments.
Customers could see some relief to their energy bills soon
There's also no income cap, something Senator Cheryl Kagan says has been an issue for her.
"My concern is that it's not income tested and $200 million is a lot of money in these tough times," said Kagan.
The Senate President says the issue with putting an income cap is the energy companies don't have that information available to decide who qualifies quickly.
"The challenge is we know probably the highest earners and those with the largest homes probably don't need it as much. The challenge is just the data existing when we're relying on utilities for income levels to be able to create a program that can get out there rapidly," said Ferguson.
Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey slammed democrats for the plan, saying this isn't a benefit for ratepayers, it's simply returning their money to them.
"In actuality, it is just that Maryland ratepayers have overpaid for their electricity over the last five years, and most specifically last year, in 2023, when the last numbers were out over $320 million in higher rates as a result of the democrat policies that have been put into place," said Hershey.
The bill passed out of committee and needs the approval of both chambers to reach the governor's desk.
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